Co-extruded light pipe
US6095673A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 20, 1998 |
| Grant date | Aug 1, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 20, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S385/901
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A light transmitting strip or light pipe 2 is used to illuminate an elongate area along which the light pipe 2 extends. The illumination is provided by light emanating laterally relative to the axis of the light pipe, and the light intensity is substantially uniform, at least to an observer, along the length of the light pipe 2. The light pipe 2 has a clear light guide section 4 and an opaque section 10 that is separated from the light guide section 4 by an air gap 8. The clear section 4 and the opaque section 10 are joined by top and bottom couplings 12 and 14, and the two sections are formed by coextruding an acrylic resin through a single coextrusion die. Light emitted laterally from the light guide 4 toward the arcuate opaque section 10 is reflected laterally through the clear light guide 4 transverse to the axis of the light pipe 2, so that all light extends through the front surface 6 of the light guide 4. By separating the reflecting opaque section 10 from the clear light guide 2 by an air gap 8, the lighting intensity can be more uniform over the length of the lighting strip or light pipe.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.